Wednesday, July 16, 2008

A Great Day

Wednesday July 16-

Today was extremely fun! It was our longest day so far with a total millage of just over 85 miles (yes there were some “bonus miles” from the 81 that we were supposed to do today.We will start with last night. We stayed in Gooding for the last night. Gooding is a city with a high volume of trains circling the city (yes they literally circle the city). We heard them all night long! There was also a brush fire at the edge of town that required fire trucks from many cities around Gooding, including Boise. So, the night was not all that good, but things started looking up in the morning.

This morning we woke up early because we knew that we had a long day, and there were also a lot of places to stop.

Mile 21 of 85- There was a dairy farmer outside of Gooding that invited us to come to his farm for a tour of his milking parlor and for refreshments. At this farm they milked cows on a circling platform. The cow would just walk on and off by themselves. The farmers were very nice, and it was cool to see.

Mile 35 of 85- We are riding along the Snake River which runs through a deep canyon. We crossed a large bridge on our way into Twin Falls. When we stopped to take a picture, we realized that there was someone there getting ready to BASE jump off the bridge (we are finding that there are many things that are legal in Idaho that are not legal in many other places). It was very cool to watch glide to the bottom of the canyon. FYI- This is the same location that Evil Knievel attempted a mile long jump over the canyon, but failed.

Mile 37 of 85- Twin Falls Reformed Church had a lunch spread prepared for us. Lunch included subway, watermelon, chips, ice cream, milk, and water. It was very good!

Mile 42 of 85- After lunch we went to see Shoshone waterfall (the Niagara of the west). It was about 2 miles out of our way, but it was well worth it. Once we got to the bottom of the road where the observation parking lot was, we took some pictures and started our trip back up. The road had a 12% grade (very very steep), but surprisingly it was easier than we thought, and both my dad and I made it quickly to the top.

Mile 43-85- The last section was a little less exciting. It is very hot and dry in the desert, and I am ready to see something besides dirt, sage brush, and railroad tracks. People are saying that the scenery will change once we get to Salt Lake City. I can’t wait!